My Legendary Academia
by yamarik
Summary: Yuuei Academy is hosting an inter-school team-based tournament. Among the participants is a certain team from the Lion Academy that calls themselves Voltron.
1. Before

Deku has to wonder how their team had managed to make it to the finals of this tournament, since they could barely even stand each other. Sure, four of them could work together well enough, and they had assumed from the start that Kacchan would always be rushing right in to blow things up and were thus able to back him up fairly well, but it wasn't really teamwork. It was just four of them revolving around Kacchan, and Deku thinks that if it was a team of villains out to kill them all rather than frightened teams of trainee heroes, they would fail. They could be a really strong group. But right now, they're just a group composed of strong members.

They've just had one of their last practice sessions, and things had not gone well. The goal of the practice had been simple: retrieve a bracelet from principal Nezu. It had ended with Deku, Todoroki, and Kacchan getting into a heated argument that Nezu had taken advantage of. He'd rigged up a booby trap to capture the three of them and then set up more traps so Uraraka and Yaoyorozu couldn't come to the rescue. They'd reached the time limit for their practice, and Deku had spent more than half that time roped together with an irate Kacchan and a sulking Todoroki, and he kinda hated his life right about now.

After they've been lectured for almost half an hour by principal Nezu and Aizawa-sensei, they are finally released for free time, and Deku goes straight back to his room to shower. He tries to think of what exactly had gone wrong during practice: obviously Kacchan's tendency to completely ignore everyone else was a huge problem, but Deku could have done better too since he'd slipped three times on Todoroki's ice, and Todoroki had mispositioned himself and gotten into Kacchan's way, and no one had even tried to utilize Uraraka's quirk, and Yaoyorozu had spent too much time yelling at Kacchan to fall back instead of trying to help. There were a lot of things that could be better.

Deku takes his time in the shower, letting the icy water wash away the frustration he felt with his team. They were students of Yuuei Academy. They were better than this, and it was time they showed it.

After drying off and getting dressed, Deku isn't sure what to do with himself. Out of habit he grabs a hand weight and starts to lift it, but then he notices the packet on the floor in front of his door. He puts the weight down. This is it. The winner of the other semi-final match has been decided, and they have their opponents for the finals. He goes to the door and picks up the packet with shaking hands, but before he can see more than the name of the opposing team on the first page- Team Voltron- someone knocks on his door. He absently fumbles with the knob, opening it as he notices that their opponents come from a school called the Lion Academy over in Arus. It takes Deku a moment to remember where Arus is: it's not too far away, but it's so small it's hard to find on any map and easy to forget.

A hand grabs Deku's wrist.

"Come on," Kacchan growls, and Deku pales as he is dragged from his room. He just manages to pull his door shut behind him before he is being tugged, packet still in hand, down the hall and down the stairs to the dorm's common area.

"Sit," Kacchan orders. Deku does, because at times like this when he is surprised, the years and years of being weak and unable to fight back since he had no quirk take over and he freezes in fear. Kacchan leaves the room, and Deku looks around wildly. He's on a couch facing a blank screen. There is a remote on the arm rest. No one else is in the room.

What could Kacchan want. Does Kacchan blame him for things going wrong in practice today? It would be like Kacchan to do that, he's always hated Deku and been only too happy to make Deku the scapegoat for all his problems. Perhaps Deku should run away. But that might just be delaying the inevitable, and it wouldn't solve the problem of their shitty teamwork, perhaps if he faces Kacchan calmly they can work things out but no, Kacchan isn't one to ever take a peaceful solution when a simple explosion can handle things more to his satisfaction-

"Will you shut the fuck up already? You're making me sound like some kind of psychopath!" Kacchan snaps. He's back, and flanked by the rest of their team, who all look less than thrilled to be there.

"You mean you aren't?" Yaoyorozu asks.

"Kidnapping us for unknown reasons does seem pretty psychotic," Todoroki agrees.

"Guys, please don't," Deku squeaks.

"I haven't kidnapped anyone! You can leave whenever. But if you guys don't like whatever strategy I come up with to fight this team, then you had better keep your mouths shut, assholes!" Kacchan snaps, brandishing his own copy of the information packet Deku has. Everyone starts to stare that Kacchan of all people is talking about strategy. But then they remember that being stared at will probably piss him off, and so they all quickly avert their eyes.

"Oh, are we having a strategy meeting then?" Uraraka asks. She pulls out her own packet. With twin sighs, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu do the same. The three of them sit as well.

"Why else would I get all the footage of their past battles so we could watch it together? It's not like I actually like you shitheads," Kacchan grumbles, grabbing the remote and powering up the TV screen. A frozen scene of one of the tournament arenas blossoms into view.

"Good call," Uraraka says, ever the friendly one. "From what I saw in the packet before you showed up, they mostly don't have very impressive quirks, so I really want to see how they use them in battle to have won so much."

Deku quickly opens his packet to take a look at what their quirks are. For some reason, the hero names of the opposing team are all colors: Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green. Black's quirk is called insta-leap, and apparently allows him to leap to any location within sight so that he will arrive in a fraction of a second regardless of distance. It sounds like teleportation to Deku, and not very strong teleportation at that. Red's quirk is lava: he can turn any surface into lava. Blue's quirk is ice whip, and he can produce whips made of ice that freeze whatever they touch. And since the whips come from his body he can move them as he pleases, changing directions at whim. Green's quirk is called network vines. Apparently he- she? They? Green's gender is indeterminate from the information they've been given- can produce vines that can pick up electric impulses. And last is yellow, who's quirk gives Deku pause.

The quirk is called earthshaker, and by itself doesn't seem like much. Yellow can move the ground however he wants, albeit no more than approximately 1.75 times his weight at once. However, his weight is given, and the amount of earth he can move at once is over 500lbs. And since Red can turn the ground into lava, they could create a lava wall.

"Todoroki, do you think that you could maybe freeze any lava Red creates?" Deku asks.

"I'm not sure. It depends on how hot it is I guess," Todoroki says. "If it's above a certain temperature, the amount of ice I'd need to use would be over my limit."

"Speaking of ice, don't you think the ice whips will be a problem?" Uraraka asks.

"Uraraka, I can also produce fire," Todoroki says.

"Plus if I can blast out of Todoroki's ice I can probably blast out of this guy's ice as well," Kacchan says dismissively. "Assuming he can hit me that is. If it's me or Deku, we're probably fast enough to evade him."

This time they all manage to catch themselves before they start to stare. Did Kacchan just say something that might even be considered nice about Deku?

"What worries me is that we don't know how far Red can extend his quirk," Yaoyorozu says. "For all we know, he could make the whole arena into a giant lava field. We'll probably need Uraraka to make us weightless so we can stay airborne above it. And if his area of influence is that big, Uraraka would have to stay back with me to make anything I create weightless too. We'll also have to practice a bit to see if the objects I create weigh me down before they are completed, and figure out how to deal with that."

"Maybe if we watch we can work out a more in-depth counterplan," Deku suggests, and the others nod in agreement. Kacchan presses another button on the remote, and they begin to watch the footage.

Far too many of the battles are short. As in, they barely last seconds. But those ones are absolutely vital information, as they discover that Black is the one they really need to watch out for. He uses his quirk to reach key players of the other team and take them out before they can even join in on the action. After that, things are mostly settled by Red and Blue. In fact, Green and Yellow do very little. Yellow tends to hang back with Green, only ever taking part at the end of the battles to assist with captures. The only time they see Green do anything is in a battle against someone with invisibility, when Green somehow manages to locate the invisible attacker and direct the team to capture them.

Based on what they've seen, they can make a few assumptions: Black will almost certainly make the first attack, and it will most likely be against Kacchan, though Deku and Todoroki are also at risk. Red will try to limit their mobility with his lava. And Blue will likely try to freeze them once the lava field is in effect since they will have to avoid the lava and will be more open to other forms of attack.

After a while, they have their strategy planned out. It's fairly simple. Uraraka will make everyone weightless, and then Todoroki, Deku, and Kacchan will all go on the offensive, Deku making a straightforward attack and Kacchan and Todoroki attacking from above. Yaoyorozu will stay back and create some items for capturing the other team, and once those are ready, Kacchan, who will have the best mobility while weightless, will fall back and collect the capture items, and go in for the coup de grace. Once the plan is ready, they split up again to rest up for the tournament. They will have one last day to practice, and then the day after tomorrow they will face off against team Voltron.

x

If there is any one flaw in the character of Takashi Shirogane, known to his friends and teachers as Shiro, it is his sheer niceness. He insists on sportsmanship, and fairness. Which is really annoying when his ability to use his quirk makes things automatically unfair.

It is this aspect of Shiro's character that has them seeking out the team from Yuuei Academy in the cafeteria.

"Pidge, can't you just use your quirk and find them for us?" Lance whines.

"Lance, for the last time, it's almost impossible for me to use my vines in crowded indoor places like this," Pidge explains.

"Besides, I've just spotted them. Let's go," Shiro says. He leads the way over to a group of students, among whom are the five they will be facing off against tomorrow. They take note of their soon-to-be-opponents as they approach. The most noticeable is Bakugou Katsuki, mostly because he is currently yelling curse words at the top of his lungs. Across the table and a few seats down, Midoriya Izuku is flinching away. Next to him, Uraraka Ochako is laughing understandingly. A few seats to Midoriya's other side is Yaoyorozu Momo, who is eating dessert and clearly enjoying it. And last but not least is Todoroki Shouto, sitting on the end of the bench and staring at his food with apparent disinterest.

"Excuse me," Shiro says, approaching the table. Everyone at the table looks up, and Bakugou's lip curls back in a snarl. "Hi, I'm Black from team Voltron, and these are my teammates, Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green. We came to say hi since we'll be facing your team in the finals tomorrow."

"Hooo, staking out the competition? Heh heh heh," Uraraka says, a glint in her eye.

"Ah, n-n-nice to meet you!" Midoriya says, standing up and bowing.

"Well this is unexpected," Yaoyorozu says. She looks mildly concerned. And for good reason, as the guy who was sitting next to Bakugou is currently holding him down with a hand clamped over his mouth, but it seems unlikely that he can last like that given the amount of struggling Bakugou is doing.

Todoroki continues playing with his food, seeming rather apathetic.

"Hey, is it true that All Might teaches at your school?" Lance asks accusingly, shoving past Shiro.

"Yeah, he helps teach our heroics classes," someone at the table answers.

"Cool!" Lance exclaims. So does Hunk, who joins Lance, moving a lot faster than one would expect from a guy of his size.

"Can you guys get us his autograph?" Hunk asks. "We're huuuuuge fans."

"Emphasis on the huge," someone at the table mutters.

"Lance, Hunk, will you two stop fanboying already?" Keith snaps. "We're just here for a greeting."

"Maybe you are, but these guys know All Might! All Might!" Lance argues back.

"Hold on a sec- you- you look familiar," Hunk says, peering at Bakugou. "Just a moment…" Hunk reaches out and readjusts the hand that is clamped over Bakugou's mouth. "There! I thought so! Lance, look!"

"Holy cow! You're that guy from that one incident! With the slime guy?"

Bakugou begins to struggle more violently, and the guy holding him is almost thrown off, but Lance pays them no mind and instead continues talking.

"And All Might came and just blew him away, and- wow dude, you're like totally cool man! Like, you had no training, and that slime guy was just all over you and you weren't giving in and that was just so rad. Even if All Might hadn't come along, you might have been able to handle that guy by yourself, even though all those pros could do nothing. To think, we actually get to face off against a guy like you. This is gonna be amazing." Lance sighs dreamily. Bakugou, meanwhile, becomes oddly subdued as Lance begins to sing his praise.

"U-u-um, excuse me, but um, Green-san? Would you mind telling us more about your quirk? The information we were given was pretty vague," Midoriya asks. Everyone turns to stare at him, except Pidge, who adjusts their glasses and gives him an even look before responding.

"Sure thing. As it says in your information packets, I have a bunch of vines in my body that can detect and send electric impulses. To put it in simpler terms, I'm a hacker. I do best with technology, but I can use my vines for communication and detection. And, theoretically, I might be able to hack a person as well, but I've never tried it because, you know, that's totally a villain thing and also it would be a very slow process and so the subject would almost definitely notice unless they were in a coma."

"Pidge!" Keith protests. "Why are you giving information to our enemies!"

"Well it's not like my quirk is particularly suited to combat. My vines are too thin to really do much, and a lot of the ways I could use them to fight are ineffective unless I have lots of time, which, generally speaking, in combat situations, you don't have lots of time."

"Besides, Keith, we're here for sportsmanship. Answering questions regarding our quirks is only fair," Shiro says. The entire team has to suppress eye rolls.

"And now that I look about it, aren't you the kid who ran in to try and help in that incident?" Hunk asks, peering at Midoriya this time. "The one who was pretty much useless?"

"Oh wow. Running in to help a friend even when you can't really do much, you guys must be bestest buddies like me and Hunk," Lance says.

"Ha!" laughs the guy holding Bakugou. "More like worst enemies. Bakugou and Midoriya can hardly stand each other!"

"Um, Kirishima-kun? Don't you think you can let go of Bakugou-kun now?" Uraraka asks.

"Y-yeah. Before he gets really pissed," Midoriya agrees.

"Huh? Oh. Right," Kirishima says, and releases Bakugou, who turns and snarls at him "Idiot, did you seriously forget you were holding me down?!"

"So, you two don't get along?" Lance asks Midoriya, who shakes his head.

"We're more like… hm, maybe rivals?" Midoriya tells Lance.

"Oh, like me and Keith! I mean Red. His real name's Keith. And he is such a jerk. Like, totally lame-o. You really ought to be glad you're not stuck on a team with him."

"Lance, how would you like your clothes to become lava," Keith growls.

"See what I mean?" Lance stage-whispers to Midoriya. "Total hothead. The. Worst."

"Well, anyway, we should really get going," Shiro says. "We just wanted to stop by and say hi and let's have a good match tomorrow. May the best team win." He nods a farewell and heads off, his team following, except for Lance who calls after them "Wait, but I still haven't gotten an answer about getting All Might's autograph!" Hunk starts to turn as if to double back and wait as well, but Shiro stops him by clamping a hand on his shoulder, and Keith turns around and stalks back to Lance, getting behind Lance and pushing him after the others.

Behind them, the members of Yuuei Academy's representative team stare after them, surprised to see another team that's intermember dynamics are almost as bad as theirs.

x

Practice goes well, for once. They mostly work on their weightless maneuvering, and soon learn that things work best when Todoroki creates large chunks of ice for Uraraka to make weightless as well, giving them something to bounce off of. Yaoyorozu can also create objects to help in this regard, but it tends to take her a bit longer. At the end of the day, none of them have gotten into a shouting match, and they actually feel like a team for once. They're gonna win tomorrow. They just know it.

They all go to bed early, since the match is a morning one, and they want to be well-rested. But Deku does not sleep. At first he is too hot so he takes off his blanket, but then he is too cold, so he puts it back on, but then he starts to feel uncomfortable so he readjusts, but then he has an itch that is driving him nuts, and after he scratches that he feels uncomfortable again, and he's barely readjusted when he decides he wants some water, but five minutes after getting the water he needs to pee, and after that he realizes he is just too wide awake, and decides to go for a walk. He heads downstairs, but before he can head outside he sees the back of a familiar spiky-haired head standing in the kitchen of the dorm.

"Kacchan?" he asks, uncertain whether or not he should be concerned.

Kacchan jumps slightly, then lifts an arm slightly in acknowledgment, not turning around.

"What are you doing still awake?" Deku asks, walking over to join him.

"Making tea. And you? I thought I told you all to get your rest." Kacchan stares fixedly at the electric kettle on the counter in front of him, as if trying to get the water inside to heat up faster.

"I was going to go for a walk since I can't sleep."

"You trying to get busted for going out after curfew? You could get us disqualified like that you shitty nerd. Besides, physical activity will only stimulate the brain and keep you awake. I'll make more tea for you."

"Doesn't tea have caffeine though?"

"It's camomile, dumbass. It's soothing."

"O-oh. Thanks."

Kacchan prepares a second mug and tea bag, and when the water is ready he pours it in the two mugs. Deku reaches to take his but Kacchan slaps his hand away with a glare. It's the first eye contact they've made this conversation.

"Give it time to steep. It doesn't become tea the moment you immerse the bag in the water."

It suddenly occurs to Deku that Kacchan might secretly be some sort of tea connoisseur. He's known this guy since they were young, and yet he barely knows him at all. It's kinda weird.

A couple minutes tick by in silence, and then Kacchan pulls out the tea bags and drops them in the trash. He hands Deku one of the mugs and heads out to the common area, sitting down on one of the couches and placing his mug on a coffee table. Deku follows, sitting at a chair that is facing the same coffee table but is perpendicular to the couch. He holds onto his mug a bit longer, not quite ready to drink it but not wanting to put it down.

"Nerves?" Kacchan says suddenly, and Deku jumps, nearly spilling his tea on himself. He quickly puts the mug down now.

"Huh?" he asks intelligently.

"You said you couldn't sleep. Was it because of nerves?"

"Oh. No, not really. I was just having a hard time settling down."

"I guess that makes sense. You always do that damn muttering when you're nervous."

"Ah, yeah, I guess I do. Though I never really notice until someone points it out…" Deku laughs nervously. It may not have been nerves keeping him awake, but he was certainly nervous now. Kacchan had a way of making him feel that way.

"No shit," Kacchan agrees.

"And what about you? Why weren't you in bed?" Deku asks. Kacchan looks away, as if the courtyard visible opposite Deku is fascinating. It is rather lovely in the moonlight, but it's not quite that interesting as Kacchan seems to think at the moment.

Deku's about to sigh and say that Kacchan doesn't have to tell him when Kacchan speaks up.

"Nerves," he says lowly.

"You're nervous?" Deku asks, surprised.

"Yes, I'm fucking nervous, alright? That guy, Black, what am I supposed to do if he does come after me? You saw the footage. Every time he used his quirk against someone, they were down for the count. He knows what he's doing. He's good at it. And I don't know if I can counter that. I don't know if any of us can. He moves faster than a person can react. Faster than you, even. What are we supposed to do against him?"

"We're supposed to win. That's all, isn't it? If anyone can find a way to beat someone unbeatable, it's you. After all, you're trying to be a hero who can beat anyone, right?"

"Yeah... And if I mess up then you better be there to help out since you want to be a hero who can rescue everyone. Not that I'll ever need rescuing. But if my place is beating everyone up than yours is to make sure I can keep doing that always. You got that?"

"Yeah. I got it." Deku goes and sips his tea. It's still a little hot, and he scalds his tongue a bit, but it's nice. Soothing, like Kacchan said.

"How's the tea?" Kacchan asks.

"It's good."

"Good."

They say nothing else as they finish their tea. But as they return to their rooms, Deku can't help but feel a little proud of the fact that Kacchan just confided in him. He feels a lot better relying on Kacchan to bring them to victory, knowing that Kacchan relies a bit on him as well.


	2. Tournament

The morning of the match dawns bright and clear. Both teams get up. They eat breakfast. And then they change into their hero uniforms and head to the arena they'll be fighting in. There, they wait offstage as the spectators arrive. Even from down in the wings, the crowds are almost deafening.

On the Yuuei side, they all wait in silence. Yaoyorozu creates a handheld puzzle and begins playing with it to pass the time, but the others just sit still, waiting anxiously. The tension in the air is palpable. The excitement from the crowd is only building, and so is theirs. This is it. They did it. They reached the finals, and they're gonna win, and in short order they will be accepting the trophy on behalf of their school.

Meanwhile, on the Lion Academy side, Shiro is giving a pep talk.

"Alright team, get ready. We're about to face the fight of our lives out there. But remember, whether we win or lose, this will be a valuable experience at fighting strong foes, and it could help us in a fight against villains someday. So just stick to the plan, and let's do our best. We want to make Ms. Allura proud. We want to show her how much we've learned thanks to her teaching, and we want to make Mr. Coran cry tears of joy at how far we've come. Let's do our best, because that's all we can do, and because that is the only way we can show our appreciation for everything out teachers have done for us. Let's show the world what we can do, and how great we are. Keith, you are amazing, keeping our opponents at bay by turning the ground to lava every time. Lance, you are spectacular, the way you- wait, are you mouthing along with my pep talk? Stop that!"

"Sorry Shiro, I can't help it! You give the same exact spiel every time. We all know it by heart by now," Lance apologizes.

"What? I don't-"

"-the way you capture our enemies without fail," Lance interrupts, continuing Shiro's speech.

"Hunk, you're the bomb, keeping us safe and creating traps as needed," Hunk intones.

"Pidge, you are fabulous, and the best information-gatherer I've ever seen," Pidge drones.

"Together, we make Team Voltron, and fight with the strength of lions. We're unstoppable," Keith finishes.

"Okay, so maybe I keep a few of the same themes recurring in my pep talks," Shiro admits.

"Uh-huh," Lance says drily.

A light above the door to the waiting room they're in flashes green, signaling the match is about to begin.

"Let's just go out there and try and win this," Shiro says.

"Sounds like a plan, leader," Keith grins.

Over on the Yuuei side, the team jumps to their feet and is out the door the moment the light flashes. They are so ready for this. As they walk out onto the arena, Kacchan yells "Let's win!" and the rest of the team responds with one loud yell of "Yeah!"

The teams go to the center of the stage to shake hands, and then disperse on either side of the arena. The Yuuei team spreads out, not wanting to be too close to each other for when Black makes his initial attack. Team Voltron also spreads out, with Red and Yellow standing together about halfway back, Blue a bit behind them, and Black and Green stationed on the far side of the arena. Present Mic yells out "Start!"

Kacchan immediately sets off an explosion around him as defense, turning to where Uraraka is so he can meet her and they can enact their plan.

But their plan is already falling apart, because Uraraka isn't there. Kacchan whirls back to face the other team, and sees that there are now six people, and one is an unconscious Uraraka, on the ground next to Black.

x

As soon as Shiro gets back with Uraraka, he knocks her out using a pressure point.

"All yours, Pidge," he calls, laying the unconscious girl on the ground. Thin tendrils of vines begin to creep over her, more and more appearing slowly. It takes a good thirty seconds before the girl is fully trapped.

While Pidge is working on securing their opponent, The others have their jobs. Hunk is throwing up a wall of earth, and Keith is turning it into lava. Meanwhile, Lance has a whip at the end of each of his forefingers, which are idly ripping at the air around him. They have a range of about fifteen feet each.

The team from Yuuei panics a bit. Apparently Pidge's guess was right and Uraraka had been essential to the other team's strategy. But before long, they've readjusted, and as predicted, the three guys on the team surge forward, heading straight for the lava wall. The three of them go over easily despite the lack of lessened gravity, but on the other side Keith has created a lava field, with Lance standing on a small island left for him. Hunk has moved back and encased Pidge in a barrier of earth, leaving just enough gaps to allow them to breathe. He's also made a sort of platform for Shiro to stand on, allowing Shiro a better view of the arena.

Todoroki, who used a similar sort of platform- albeit on made of ice- to get above the wall, stays back on the Yuuei side of the wall, creating a glacier in the lava field for Midoriya to use to spring forward as he surges over the lava field and heads for Shiro and Hunk. Bakugou, meanwhile, uses explosions to keep himself airborne and to direct himself forward, launching himself towards Lance.

"Hey pretty boy, wanna dance?" Lance calls out. "Maybe we should make a date of it. With all these explosions I bet you have some good chemistry."

The whips slice towards Bakugou as Lance catcalls, and Bakugou uses an explosion to direct himself downwards, coming dangerously close to the lava before he lets off a series of explosions to propel himself towards Lance at high speed. Lance, having expected Bakugou to redirect himself so as to attack from above, is not prepared for this.

"Oh sh-"

Shiro, being a total champion, saves Lance's sorry hide, moving him to another island of cooled lava that Keith has created. At the back, Hunk is moving the ground in a wave towards Midoriya, managing to hold his own despite the other guy's speed. It does help that Keith has moved back to assist him. Keith is limited in the use of his quirk with his teammate so near, but he has created a sword of lava for himself, which he uses adeptly to help keep Midoriya at bay.

Bakugou is already launching himself towards the new island.

"You got this?" Shiro asks.

"Yeah, go ahead and fall back. I just miscalculated a bit."

Shiro heads back to his spire as Lance begins to move his whips through a complicated pattern to create a defensive wall around him. Todoroki, trying to create an opening, sends a jet of flames towards Lance, but the moment they touch the whips the flames freeze. Frost creeps up the end of the flames towards Todoroki's left arm and Todoroki quickly stops his attempts lest it reach him as well, letting the now frozen fire fall into the lava to melt.

While Todoroki's flames may not have reached Lance, Bakugou does. He uses explosions to blast the ice whips aside, causing Lance to lose his pattern. Lance attacks, but his whips are being forced aside and he is losing ground and running out of island to stand on.

"Looks like you're the only one dancing," Bakugou growls. "You're too slow to take me with just two whips."

"Ah, but who says I have just two?" Lance asks with a grin, and suddenly an additional eight whips are surrounding Bakugou, coming at him from all directions. He manages to blast the first three away, but then the fourth gets through and it sticks to him, limning his calf with frost where it grips him. He keeps fighting, blocking another four before a second one catches his wrist, and a third wraps around his chest, and with each new whip touching him, the frost expands, slowing him down. Lance retracts all the whips not in use on his right hand, and the whip that is around Bakugou's chest thickens, and Bakugou is completely frozen.

x

Deku is realizing he might be in trouble. For one: he miscalculated. In the footage they saw of team Voltron's past battles, Yellow didn't ever use his quirk too much, and so Deku had just sort of assumed that he would move the earth in spurts: move these 500lbs here and then that 500lbs over there. As such, he didn't think it would be hard to take Yellow out. But Yellow is constantly shifting which 500lbs he is moving, adding and subtracting simultaneously. He moves the ground like a wave around him, which blocks Deku's attacks, ruins Deku's footing, and even strikes Deku. And then there's Red. Yellow is proving more challenging than Deku thought, but he could find a way to work around it; if he had time to think that is. And Red is not giving him time to think. Of course Deku is faster than Red, and stronger, but Red has that lava sword and is a skilled fighter, plus Deku is on treacherous terrain, and sometimes Red leaves patches of lava behind that Deku has to avoid.

Deku is moving as much as he can, and as fast as he can in hopes that the two won't be able to keep up, and as a result, his view is constantly changing. He'll see the side of the arena, then the other side, then back towards where they started, then the first side again, then where Uraraka is still held down by vines. If he could only get to Uraraka… but she's still unconscious, and Red manages to step in the way, and he changes directions again. And somewhere in his ever-changing view, he manages to see the moment when Kacchan loses. Kacchan, who never loses.

"Kacchan!"

The scream tears itself from Deku's throat, and without realizing what he's doing he's thrown himself past Red and Yellow and is hurtling towards Blue, slamming into him, and suddenly the lava field is gone and Deku and Blue are able to safely tumble along the ground. Todoroki takes the chance to join the fray, sliding on ice he created to get to Kacchan and use his flames to thaw their teammate. But before Todoroki can reach him, Kacchan disappears, and they see him over near Uraraka, being swallowed by the ground as Black stands above him. Todoroki changes directions and joins Deku, encasing Blue in ice before Blue can recover and freeze them instead.

The status is thus: the team from Yuuei is down two people: one support fighter and their main attacker. One of the remaining team members is virtually cut off from the fight. Meanwhile, team Voltron is down one attacker as well. The battle could still go either way.

"Midoriya, I'll take Red and Yellow. You go after Black and Green," Todoroki says. It makes sense. Todoroki can use his ice to shield himself from Red and to counter the maneuvering difficulties Yellow creates, and while he may not be as fast as Black, Deku is the one with the greater speed.

Deku figures if he goes after Green first, Black will come to Green's aid and that will be his opportunity to attack Black. He and Todoroki make the charge, Todoroki creating a ramp to allow Deku to take a running leap over Red and Yellow. He lands, and launches himself forward, preparing to hit the miniature hill that is hiding Green.

He doesn't make it there. He is knocked off course when he is hit by something. In the span of less than a second, he gets hit about five times on either side, the final hit sending him bouncing to his left. As the ground and the sky reverse and reverse, he is able to see Todoroki surrounded by lava and looking alarmed as a wave of land envelops him, burying him up to his neck. Red puts his hands to the ground, and Todoroki is surrounded by lava. Yuuei has lost another fighter.

x

Once Hunk and Keith have Todoroki pinned down, they remove the wall through the center of the arena that they had created at the beginning of the match. Yaoyorozu is seated at the far end of the arena, surrounded by various items designed for capturing them. Most of the items are nets and snares, but she is currently holding a tranquilizer gun in her hands. As the wall goes down, she takes stock of the situation, and notices that Midoriya is the only teammate who is still functional. As such, she raises the rifle and begins to aim.

Hunk immediately takes action, throwing up little bunkers for Shiro, Keith, and himself to hide behind. However, there is little need for that, as Pidge has the situation in hand. There are several vine tendrils wrapped around Yaoyorozu's ankles, having snaked around her unnoticed as the rest of the battle went on. The vines yank forwards, causing Yaoyorozu to lose her balance and fall onto her butt. Even as she is falling, she is creating a knife, and once seated she reaches for the tendrils, ready to cut them off. The vines immediately retract.

The downside of Pidge's quirk, other than it's lack of speed or strength, is that the vines are highly sensitive. Cutting them would cause Pidge more pain than if Pidge were cut directly.

Once freed of the vines, Yaoyorozu wastes no time getting to her feet. Midoriya too has gained his feet, and Keith and Hunk move to meet him. Shiro may be the best at raw combat, but his special skill of rapid successive jumps takes it out of him, rendering him all but immobile for one second per jump. If pushed, Shiro can make more than 30 jumps, but he rarely does more than ten unless he knows he can clinch their victory, since the recovery time is just too dangerous. But Keith and Hunk can protect him for ten seconds.

Yaoyorozu, realizing she can't get a clean shot due to Hunk's walls and the risk of hitting Midoriya instead of an opponent, moves to get closer. She creates a pair of rollerblades and, toting a few of the nets and her tranq gun, skates across the arena, considering her options. She can try to dig out Todoroki. It will be physically challenging yet delicate work. She can free Uraraka and try to wake her up. She can try and find Bakugou, who she can't see at all. Or she can attack. Black hasn't moved in a while, so maybe this is her chance to attack him. Or she can try and dig out that little hill up ahead. Bakugou might be in there, or Green, who she also doesn't see. But Black is the most dangerous. She should try and tranquilize and capture him. She skates towards him, and once she has a clean view, she stops her momentum and takes aim.

Too late. Shiro has recovered and uses his quirk to tackle Yaoyorozu, easily overpowering her. He holds her down as vines carefully begin to snake over her, until like Uraraka she is enveloped too thoroughly for movement.

Keith and Hunk are still trying to hold off Midoriya, and Shiro figures it's about time he do something about that.

"Pidge," Shiro says, keeping a hand on the vines surrounding Yaoyorozu, "Tell Hunk to make a wall with a pitfall beneath it. I'll line up the shot so it can be wherever works best for him." Shiro knows Pidge will hear, and will use another vine to convey the message on to Hunk. Sure enough, Hunk complies, almost taking a hit in the process but still getting it done. It makes Shiro proud.

Midoriya is fast, and a bit hard to follow. But he does slow down enough to track when he changes directions, and it's enough that Shiro can do this. He plans his jumps, and springs into action.

Deku has just dodged back from a strike from Red and is about to launch a counterattack when he is once again hit by a sudden force, only this time he finds himself being carried rather than simply struck, and then he is slammed into a wall, winding him. He falls, unable to catch himself, and is plunged into darkness as the earth moves to seal the opening he just fell through. There's not a lot of room to give him momentum, but he can probably smash his way out without too much trouble.

Or so he thinks until the dirt above him heats up, and he realizes Red has placed a lava field above him. He cannot get out. Yuuei has lost.

x

It takes a little bit after the announcement of team Voltron's victory for everyone to be freed. Hunk works fairly fast, exhuming Pidge, Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki in short order. Pidge, meanwhile, retracts all their vines, freeing Yaoyorozu and Uraraka- who is only just coming to. Todoroki then goes to work thawing Lance, and Yaoyorozu creates a space heater to thaw out Bakugou. Only once everyone is freed do the teams line up to shake hands.

Deku manages to keep it together for the closing ceremony, but the moment they are safely backstage the tears start coming. Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki immediately go to comfort him, telling him it's not his fault and stating things they all could have done better. Not surprisingly, Kacchan doesn't stick around. He's probably pissed about their loss, and doubtlessly has no patience for Deku's waterworks.

The tears finally subside after a while, not because of anything anyone has said to comfort him, but more because Deku has just used up all his tears. He's afraid to think of what the following days will bring. There will be the pointing and the whispers, the other students of Yuuei looking at their team in disgust as the ones who dishonored the school's proud tradition of turning out the finest heroes. After beating all the other first-year teams from their school, they had been the ones selected to compete. They had made it to the finals, and the school had put their hopes on this one team, only to have the team fail them. They would be the most-hated kids in the school.

Rather than head back to the dorm, Deku heads for one of the gyms, figuring on some running or weight-lifting to cool his mind. Apparently he's not the only one who has had this idea though, as he walks in to find Kacchan pulverizing a punching bag. He's not using his quirk, just beating it up with his bare hands. Deku thinks about sneaking out and leaving, but he's going to have to face Kacchan sooner or later. Maybe he should wait until Kacchan is a little calmer, but from the looks of things, that won't be any time soon, and they will have to deal with each other before long. After all, there will be a party to recognize the participants in the finals tonight, and they live in the same dorm and are in the same class and there really won't be any avoiding Kacchan.

Kacchan stops his assault on the punching bag and stands for a moment, panting.

"I can hear you, you damn nerd," he growls. Oops. Deku was muttering again.

"Ah, Kacchan, I, uh…" What is Deku even supposed to say right now?

"I don't blame you, if that's why you're here."

"But you said I should help you if you needed it and I let you down!" Deku protests. And oh dear. The tears were back.

"Yeah but I also said I wouldn't need help and then I went and got frozen!" Kacchan snaps, his voice breaking. He turns to face Deku and Deku can see that he's tearing up too.

"It's not your fault, Deku. And it's not the fault of any of the others. They were just the better team, and that means we've still got some growing to do. We've just got to get stronger so we can beat them next time, that's all," Kacchan adds.

"Y-yeah," Deku half-sobs.

"Geez, you cry so much sometimes I almost wonder if it's some kind of quirk," Kacchan mutters. He turns back to the punching bag and resumes its beating. Deku wipes futilely at his eyes before giving up and leaving the gym to go find some tissues.

They lost. But that doesn't mean that they can't continue to move forward.


	3. After

The party is held in the auditorium of Yuuei where the opening and closing ceremonies of each semester are held. Deku, always the hero otaku and eager to learn more about the techniques used by heroes, uses this opportunity to track down the members of team Voltron and talk to them about their quirks and techniques. For example, Black's use of his quirk had completely caught Deku off guard, and then Yellow's control of his quirk was admirable as well, and really all of them were quite talented.

Team Voltron was easy enough to find. They were all gathered together on one of the many couches that had been set up in the auditorium for the party. Only Blue was standing, and the others were all mostly avoiding eye contact with him. As Deku came up he could hear Blue protesting "... just for a little bit? Like one song. After that you guys can sit down again, because it's fine to stay on the dance floor by yourself, but to get on alone would be so lame! Please?"

"Lance, we get that you're a bit more extroverted than the rest of us, and a total show-off. But you need to understand that for the rest of us, that dance floor is equivalent to one of the circles of Hell," Black replies.

"Only if Keith does his 'floor is lava' joke again," Blue- or Lance- replies.

"U-um," Deku says, and the team turns to him.

"Midoriya, right?" Black says with a friendly smile.

"Y-yeah. Um, sorry to bother you and all, I know you probably want to have fun since it is a party and you did win so it's really a party for you, but-"

"Team Voltron! There you are! Oh, Deku-kun," Uraraka interrupts, coming to join. "Did you also come to talk about today's match?" she asks Deku.

"Y-yeah, I-"

"Excuse me, Team Voltron? We just wanted to say your teamwork was superb and we were just so impressed by the way you fought today and- oh, Midoriya-kun, Ochako-chan. Fancy seeing you here," Yaoyorozu says. She is flanked by Todoroki.

Deku, sensing a trend, doesn't open is mouth to continue. Which is good, because as he guessed, he would have been interrupted again.

"Oy, how did you get such good teamwork," Kacchan says, shoving his way over to them.

"So I guess everyone wants to talk about today's match, huh?" Black says mildly.

"Yeah. You guys were really strong!" Uraraka says.

Black laughs bitterly, and there's a look in his eyes that is painful to see.

"Actually, I went ahead and calculated the odds of one-on-one matches between your team members and ours, and most matches would end in our defeat," Green says. "We're not particularly strong per se, we just have really good teamwork. Which, I'm just gonna go ahead and take credit for that, since my vines can be used to communicate. So even if we end up spread out on a battlefield, we still have no problem coordinating attacks." Green pushes their glasses up with a smug expression.

"Well also training under Ms. Allura helped a lot," Yellow says. "She chose the five of us because she can combine people with her quirk so they become one giant person with multiple quirks that are way more powerful than any one person's would be. But they need to be able to share a mindset and cooperate fully, and not many groups can do that but we can."

"And also for us, teamwork is a necessity," Red says tightly.

"How so?" Todoroki asks.

"Our school may be in Arus, but don't let that fool you. We're all refugees from Altea," Lance says.

All the gathered Yuuei students suck in a collective breath.

"Then… the war with Daibazaal?" Yaoyorozu asks.

"Not Daibazaal," Red spits. "The Galra."

"I thought the Galra were the leaders of Daibazaal," Todoroki says.

"No," Black says, shaking his head. "At least, not until the government overthrow twenty years ago. Before that, the Galra were just a small-time group of villains. Mostly petty crimes. Pickpocketing and disorderly conduct. But then they got new leadership all of a sudden, and overnight rose to become a powerful entity. Before the Daibazaal government had any time to counter them, they had been taken over."

"So the country is being run by villains?" Deku asks.

"They're not villains. Villains are people, and the Galra are nothing but monsters," Red says heatedly. He clearly has some strong negative feelings regarding this subject.

"The Galra have enforced a quirk-based hierarchy on their society," Green explains sadly. "Children are judged by their quirks at a young age. If their quirk has high potential to hurt people or involves the ability to manipulate people in any way, they are promoted to the top class. The rest get judged by a panel who determines whether their quirk is useful or not. If it is, they enter the working class. If it isn't, they become slaves. They will also be drafted for experimentation. Their life expectancy is very short."

"What about people who are quirkless?" Kacchan asks.

There's a silence in which no one answers, which speaks volumes. Finally Blue speaks up.

"We think they get culled. But there are some sources that say they get used to test artificially created quirks, since rumor has it that that's the pet project of the Galra leader's right hand, Haggar. From what I've heard, some of the artificial quirks have some negative impacts on those who receive them, and so she tests them on the quirkless to make sure the quirks won't burn up the person she gives them or anything like that."

"That's… horrible." Yaoyorozu says.

"It is. But this really isn't a good topic for a party," Black says, trying to steer the topic to something lighter.

"You know what is a good thing for parties? Dancing!" Blue insists, eliciting groans from his teammates. As Blue tries to recruit Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Uraraka as well as the rest of his teammates to join him on the dance floor, Deku finds himself drifting away. He wishes he'd never gone over there to talk to them now. Even just knowing they were Altean refugees would have been enough to put a damper on the mood, but this… He had no energy for fun left in him.

Deku was almost to the door when he saw that Kacchan was also leaving. He supposed that was no real surprise. The only thing Kacchan had ever really been known to like about people was fighting them. Or rather, beating them up. Needless to say, parties weren't really his thing.

Outside the auditorium, Deku heads out into the night. The air is cool, and the breeze is playful. It's nice, and Deku is just thinking about maybe trying some stargazing because while that's not really his thing the skies are so clear that how can he not?

"Fuck!" the shout that rips into the night startles him. It's just ahead of him, and his legs are moving before he can even think, and there's Kacchan, fists clenched and head thrown back like he's ready to scream more profanities into the night sky.

"K-Kacchan!" Deku cries, alarmed. Kacchan turns, and looks slightly embarrassed.

"D-Deku. I- uh…" Kacchan takes a step back, tripping and falling onto his butt. He quickly jumps back to his feet, brushing the dirt off, and looking away.

"Kacchan, are you okay?" Deku asks, jogging over to him.

Kacchan opens his mouth as if to respond, then closes it again. He sighs.

"No," he says miserably. "Sorry Deku. I shouldn't have asked that."

"Asked what?"

"About… the quirkless. What they do. I should've just kept my mouth shut. But I just- I had to know. Because if it was like that here… I probably would never have even met you. And that's just too sad a thought."

Deku is very confused by that last statement. He thinks he should probably be flattered, but it's too unexpected a sentiment from Kacchan towards him.

"Sorry. I'm being weird right? But even when I didn't want you to be, you've always been there, you know? You're like a constant in my life, Deku. You're very important and, and- Fuck!"

Deku jumps as Kacchan turns away and shouts again.

"Kacchan…"

Kacchan turns back again just as abruptly as he turned away.

"Okay, fuck it. I don't know how I can tell you why this bothers me so much without telling you how I feel about you, so fine. I like you. I have a crush on you, and I think you're really cute, and I've thought plenty of times about asking you out, and so the idea of a place where you would get killed is pretty sickening to me, and I'm just gonna go now because I'm just fucking everything up right now. God damn it!" Kacchan turns away yet again.

"Kacchan wait!" Deku says, using his quirk to get in front of Kacchan and stop him from leaving.

"You're not someone who ever runs away, so don't start now!" Deku cries angrily. "Because if you leave now, I'm going to try and ignore everything you just said and will probably never be able to face you again and I'll never figure out if I have feelings for you too!"

"Um, what?" Kacchan asks, confused. That confusion, at least, is definitely mutual.

"It's just, I've always thought that I was straight, and maybe I didn't have any real crushes on girls but I figured I just hadn't met the right one yet and it never occurred to me that I might be- that I might like guys instead and especially that of all guys I might like you but just now what you said is certainly true- about being a constant that is- and if I try and think about what life would be like without you there it certainly does seem rather sad and if I think about it that way perhaps I like you back but since I've never liked someone before I really don't know and how are you supposed to figure out whether or not you like someone?"

"You're muttering again, Deku," Kacchan says tiredly.

"Ah, I know. A kiss. You should kiss me," Deku says.

"You can't be serious."

Deku looks Kacchan dead in the eye, and Kacchan feels a sudden lump in his throat.

"Of course I'm serious. Why else would I suggest it?" Deku says.

"Oh. Right. Shit. Okay. Shit. Um, close your eyes?"

Deku obediently closes his eyes. Kacchan reaches out to touch the side of Deku's face with one hand, trailing it there for a moment before slowly pulling Deku closer, bending his own head to reach Deku's lips with his own.

Kacchan's eyes close as he brushes his lips against Deku's. They're softer than he'd expected. He starts to pull back, thinking that will be it when Deku responds in kind, wrapping an arm around Kacchan's shoulders to pull on his head, keeping their lips locked as Deku deepens the kiss.

Kacchan isn't sure what to think. Is this a good sign? Does this mean Deku likes it? Or is Deku doing this because he isn't feeling anything at all and is seeking to go deeper in case he'll find feelings there? He really hopes it's the former, because he feels like he is dying and ascending to heaven right about now. But he needs to know. So he pushes Deku away.

Deku's eyes snap open as they separate themselves, and he stumbles backwards, looking shocked.

"Holy shit," Deku breathes, and now Kacchan is kinda shocked himself because Deku just swore.

"Holy shit, Kacchan. I'm- I'm _gay_ ," Deku says. His eyes are shining and he laughs a little.

"Then that was… good?"

"That was great. I can't believe- wow. This is amazing. I- Oh wow. I don't know which is more incredible: you liking me or me liking you."

"Then… do you want to do that again?"

Rather than say anything else, Deku just steps forward and pulls Kacchan's face down towards his. That seems to be a yes.


	4. Shenanigans

Lance is sulking about his continued failure to lure people out onto the dance floor with him, but everyone is having a good time. They're discussing the particulars of their quirks, talking about Shiro's cooldown times or how Yaoyorozu can only create things she fully understands. Hunk is munching, not surprisingly, and so is Pidge, because Pidge can eat just as much as Hunk and just has an insane metabolism. It's pretty calm and peaceful, until…

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but where's Bakugou?" asks the kid who held Bakugou back that time in the cafeteria. "That guy said he wanted to talk to you all, but I figured he'd be getting annoyed by now and someone needs to make sure he doesn't blow anything up."

"Sorry Kirishima, but he left a while ago," Uraraka says. "Maybe he went to the toilet."

"No, I think I saw him leaving," Todoroki says.

"So now the question is did he go back to the dorm or is he getting into trouble…" Kirishima muses.

"If he went outside, I could find out for you," Pidge offers.

"You can?"

"Well, I can at least ask the grass which direction he went."

"Did you just say 'ask the grass'?"Kirishima asks.

"It's not asking exactly," Hunk explains, since Pidge is at work with their quirk. "The way I understand it, Pidge forms a mental sensation for the grass and spreads it throughout their root networks, and see where they get a response. It only works for recent passages though, since Pidge says that grass has bad memory. And also if there's a lot of people passing through the area, it's a lot harder. Then Pidge has to spread out their vines over a wide area and focus like crazy, since their vines are sensitive enough to differentiate people based on weight and gait and things like that. Only Pidge really understands the particulars of it, since Pidge is really bad at explaining things."

"Wow, that's-" Kirishima begins.

"So, I found him, but I wouldn't go bothering him right now since he seems a bit… preoccupied." There's a certain emphasis on the word preoccupied that has the Yuuei students confused, but has Shiro and Hunk in particular seem to understand.

"Though I could be wrong," Pidge adds. "It's hard to be certain when I'm getting my intel from grass."

"Well, if he is preoccupied, my bet is that it's that curly-haired kid," Hunk says.

"Hunk," Shiro says chidingly.

"Oh, come on Shiro, like you don't enjoy a juicy bit of drama like this yourself," Pidge snorts.

"When you say… preoccupied, what exactly do you mean?" Yaoyorozu asks.

"It means that according to the grass two people have left the party, and those two people are currently standing very close to each other. As in closer than you would normally stand just to talk."

"So, like…" Kirishima trails off.

"Most likely, they're kissing," Pidge says bluntly. "Or hugging, I suppose, or maybe a bit of both. Point is, it's a moment that might be best not to disturb."

"Oh. My. God. So Bakugou's… I don't believe it," Kirishima says. "Nope. Definitely don't believe it. That guy doesn't do that kind of stuff."

"Wait, when you said that curly-haired kid, did you mean Midoriya?" Todoroki asks Hunk.

"Yeah, that's the name. Thanks, I was totally blanking on it."

There's a stunned silence as the Yuuei students all let their jaws hang open, and then they start laughing.

"No way. There's just no way!" Uraraka laughs.

"Yeah, those two totally hate each other," Todoroki agrees.

"They barely even last a single class period without some kind of argument cropping up." Yaoyorozu sighs.

"Those two were like, childhood friends or something, but then they became enemies and have stayed that way for like ten years. They would never willingly spend time together," Kirishima states.

"That's what we thought about Keith and Lance, but then they started hooking up and have been making out at least twice a week for the past couple of months," Pidge says. Lance begins to sputter half-formed words while Keith goes paler than normal.

"Y-you knew?" Keith asks quietly.

"Yeah. We knew. You may have thought you did a good job covering your tracks, but your arguing is a lot less sincere when you two are making goo-goo eyes at each other as you spit out your insults. We even had bets on how long you two would last. So far Mr. Coran is winning, since most of us figured you two would try it a few times to release some tension and then get sick of each other, but Mr. Coran bet that somewhere between six and eight months his quirk was going to let him know you'd need certain stuff because your relationship was about to develop," Pidge says.

"Pidge," Shiro chides.

"Oh god. I didn't even think of that," Lance moans.

"My life is over. It's officially over," Keith whispers, staring blankly into space.

"Our one teacher's quirk warns him when certain items are going to be needed," Hunk explains to the Yuuei students. "It's part of what makes him such a great inventor, since he'll know in advance that one year from now someone will need, say, an instant-quiche-maker, or something like that. And so he makes it. But he can also know when someone will need a box of tissues because of a cold or, diaper cream because of a rash, and so on."

"That's… useful," Yaoyorozu says.

"So, my vines have almost reached your friend, any bets on who he's with?" Pidge asks.

"Well I would say Uraraka but she's right here," Kirishima says.

"Well I would say Todoroki-kun but he's right here," Uraraka says at the same time.

"Well I would say Kirishima-kun but he's right here," Todoroki says above them both.

The three of them stare at each other.

"Wait what?" they all ask simultaneously.

"Oh come on, if Bakugou's gonna be crushing on anybody, it's gotta be Uraraka," Kirishima says. "Like, whenever he's getting all growly over Midoriya, she's the one who can calm him down, and he was also pretty worried about her after their match in the sports festival."

"Kirishima, you're imagining things," Uraraka huffs. "Besides, if there's anyone he would like, it's Todoroki-kun. Bakugou-kun values strength, and Todoroki-kun is someone he's been hung up on trying to beat since day one. He respects and admires Todoroki-kun, and respect and admiration is a good foundation for romance!"

"Uraraka-san, I think you are very mistaken" Todoroki insists. "Bakugou simply wished to prove his superiority. And he probably lost all respect for me at the sports festival. If he were to develop feelings for anyone, it would be Kirishima, who he is such good friends with."

"The friendship may not be as one-sided as it used to be, but it's still pretty cold from his end," Kirishima says. "Besides, we're just friends. No romantic interest whatsoever."

"Anyone else want to make a bet?" Pidge asks evilly.

"No thanks," Lance sighs tiredly.

"Count me out of your nosy parker-ing," Keith grumbles.

"At least two of you have some common decency," Shiro says, shaking his head. "Pidge, Hunk, you two ought to be ashamed."

"Says the guy who was the first one to bet on Keith and Lance," Pidge retorts.

"Yaomomo, who do you think it is?" Uraraka asks excitedly.

"I… I think it's probably some kind of misunderstanding," Yaoyorozu says uncertainly.

"Okay, bets are now closed! The results are in, and the winner is… Hunk!" Pidge announces gleefully.

"Wait, so it is Midoriya?" Shiro asks, leaning forward in a manner that is suspiciously eager for a guy who was just scolding them.

"Yup. I've got vines on them right now and those two are both sending out a lot of little signals for me to pick up on. And I'm just going to back off now before they start doing anything too gross. I may like being in the know and all, but making out really isn't meant to be a spectator sport if you ask me."

"You've got to be joking," Kirishima says. "There's no way. I'm pretty sure you could ask anyone in our class and they would tell you that that particular combo is just impossible." Kirishima looks around, then calls out "Hey Asui!" A girl passing nearby turns in response to Kirishima's call.

"What is it?" she asks, coming over to them.

"Wouldn't you agree that Midoriya and Bakugou would never hook up?" Kirishima asks.

"I don't think it is all that unlikely, actually."

"What?! But they can never get along!"

"But every time we get a new assignment, they always focus on beating each other. They never even consider anyone else. And they do worry about each other's safety, in their own ways. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get some fruit punch." Asui wanders off, leaving Kirishima completely aghast.

"Fruit punch? That sounds good. How about I go get a round for everybody?" Pidge says.

"Thanks Pidge," Shiro says.

"Not a problem," Pidge replies.

x

Deku's brain probably needed to be rebooted. For about a minute now, it had been on an endless repeat, marvelling at the facts he had just become aware of: Kacchan liked him, Kacchan was gay, he himself was gay, and he liked Kacchan. But those thoughts were just background noise for 'holy crap Kacchan and I are kissing and this is probably the best feeling ever, except maybe not because getting to meet All Might and getting accepted into Yuuei were also pretty great except oh my god I didn't realize kissing would ever be like this and to think that this is with Kacchan and after everything we've been through together who ever would have thought it would turn out like this but I am currently kissing my childhood friend and it's a good thing too because otherwise I'd probably be muttering again but I can't exactly mutter and explore his mouth at the same time and holy crap Kacchan and I are kissing!'

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought tried to register, slowing wading through the soup that was his current thought process to finally arrive in his awareness just as Kacchan pulled back to get some air.

"Um, Kacchan?"

"Yeah?"

"Does… does this mean we're dating?"

"Seriously Deku? Did you get some kind of head injury and need to go see Recovery Girl? Because I told you I like you, I thought we'd established that you like me too, we've been kissing for who knows how long now but it's been a couple minutes at least, and I did tell you that I've thought about asking you out which means I do want to date you, so unless you've got some real good reason not to, I'd say that yes, we're dating starting tonight."

"Well, it's just… Don't you think people will be kinda surprised?"

"Oh. Right. Well fuck them. If the two of us are dating, it's no one's business but ours."

"I guess…"

"Wow. Nice to know that you find the idea of dating me that embarrassing, Deku."

"It's not that! I just… It's probably going to catch a lot of attention for a while."

"If you want to be a hero someday you should get used to it."

Deku laughs. "Yeah, I guess I should." The two stand in silence for a moment, before Deku breaks the silence with another "Wow, I can't believe this is happening right now. I mean, it's great, I just… really didn't expect this. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"You're amazing," Kacchan mumbles.

"W-w-well so are you!"

"Shut up, you damn nerd. I said it first, so… so there!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you are too!"

Both of them are blushing furiously, and realizing that right about now, they might need some time apart before they embarrass themselves beyond salvation.

"I- I'm gonna go back to the party."

"Ah, yeah, I think I'll… walk around a bit. But I'll, uh, I'll see you there in a bit?"

"Yeah. See you there, Deku."

Kacchan leans forward and they share one last peck, and then Kacchan walks off. Deku watches as Kacchan hurries away, still in awe of the night's realizations. He was gay. He had a boyfriend. That boyfriend was Kacchan, and they had kissed, and Deku wanted more kissing like that because it had been more enjoyable than he could ever have imagined. He feels so good right now and he's certain no one else has ever felt this way before.

Meanwhile, back at the auditorium, Kacchan is in the bathroom scrubbing his face at the sink and willing that damn blush to just go away. He's not some middle school girl. But then again, his first love and long-time crush just agreed to go out with him and…

Fuck. The blush just got brighter again. Kacchan goes and hides in a stall to avoid letting anyone see him in this pitiful state that Deku has left him in.

Still, who would have thought Deku was such a good kisser?

x

Uraraka is the first one to spot Bakugou heading back towards them.

"Bakugou-kun!" she calls out.

"Bakugou, there you are!" Kirishima says, rushing over, but he is quickly shoved aside by Lance.

"So, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for flirting with you like that during the match, I was just trying to throw you off guard and didn't mean anything by it, but if I'd known you were dating Midoriya I would never have-"

"You mean it's okay for you to flirt with him when you have a boyfriend but not when he has one?" Shiro asks, interrupting Lance.

"Wait, you flirted with him? La-ance!" Keith protests.

"This is the best part about being friends with these guys. All this free entertainment, right here," Hunk says, happily munching on a canape.

"Bakugou? You okay man?" Kirishima asks, waving a hand in front of Bakugou's face. The others turn to see that Bakugou is rooted to the spot (not literally) and staring unblinking at the space where Lance was as he apologized.

"Uhhhhhh-oh. I think you might be in trouble," Uraraka warns Lance.

"Ohmigawd. What'd I do?"

Just then Deku approaches, having finally calmed down and returned to the party.

"Midoriya!" Lance cries out in relief. "Midoriya, thank god you're here! I think I just broke your boyfriend!"

Midoriya freezes midstep. His jaw goes slightly slack, and his eyes go blank. His expression is the twin of Bakugou's.

"Oh shit. I just made things worse, didn't I?" Lance asks. The Yuuei students slowly begin to back away from him.

"Hey guys, sorry it took so long, ran into a few people who wanted to ask about our team and whatnot, and also I had to scrounge up a tray, but I got the punch!" Pidge says cheerfully, approaching them with a tray loaded with cups of fruit punch. "Oh hey, Bakugou and Midoriya are back. Good thing I thought to grab some extra cups in case anyone else came to join us."

"Thanks Pidge," Shiro says.

"Oh shit, Bakugou is coming back to us!" Kirishima shouts, and valiantly inserts himself between Bakugou and Lance.

"Wow, what happened while I was gone?" Pidge asks.

"Drama. Like usual," Hunk replies.

"Okay, yeah, I can see that, but, like, shouldn't Keith be the one protecting Lance's ass?"

"Keith's still K.O.'d from you outing them earlier," Hunk says, pointing a thumb at where Keith is still hunched over. "Well that and he found out Lance apparently tried to use his flirtation tactic against Bakugou."

"And you guys were all against letting me get a bunch of drones to follow us around and film this shit and sell it to a TV producer," Pidge sighs.

"Bakugou, I know you're angry but-" Kirishima is saying.

"H-how did you know?" Bakugou asks in a voice that is barely audible.

"What?" Kirishima asks.

"How did you know Deku and I are dating? We only just started like, ten minutes ago. So how did you all- you know what? Nevermind. I'm done. I give up. But flirt with me again, and I will kick your ass because I have a boyfriend and he is way cuter. And flirt with him and I will kick your ass until you don't have one anymore because he is mine. Got that?"

"He'll have bigger problems to worry about if he flirts with either of you," Keith says, finally rising from both his figurative and his literal slumps.

"I already said I was sorry!" Lance protests.

"Lance, I would think that you'd know by now that once Keith gets mad it takes some serious grovelling to make it up to him," Shiro says with a grin.

"I was just trying to throw him off though! It's not like I'm actually interested in him or anything!"

"What, are you saying I'm not hot?" Bakugou asks.

"Uhhhhh…" Lance says, sensing doom.

"He's saying I'm hotter," Keith says planting himself at Lance's side. "And I've got the lava to prove it."

"Okay, how about you guys drink some punch to clear some of the testosterone from the air," Pidge says.

"I don't know, I thought it was just starting to get amusing," Uraraka says.

"So you and Midoriya are really going out? How interesting," Yaoyorozu says, arranging a teapot and cup she has just created using her quirk. She holds the teapot up to Todoroki, saying "Would you mind?"

Todoroki uses his quirk to fill the pot with ice, then melts the ice so that she has hot water. Yaoyorozu pulls a tea bag out of her clutch and drops it into the pot, letting it steep.

Deku finally manages to regain his senses when Bakugou passes him a cup of punch. He has another cup for himself, and everyone else aside from Pidge, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka have all taken cups as well.

"Um, I guess you all know this already, but um, K-Kacchan and I are, uh, d-d-d-dating," Deku stammers uneasily. He gulps down his punch and reaches for a second cup.

"Yeah, we heard," Lance says. "Is it just me or does this punch taste a little funny?"

"We're in another country, Lance. They probably just use a different recipe than you're used to," Keith says, slowly sipping his.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, it is pretty good," Lance says, and drains his cup.

"I still can't believe it though," Kirishima says. "I mean, you two are like the last people either of you would ever want to date."

"Um, well, I don't really think so?" Deku says.

"Dude, he and I have known each other forever. We know how to put up with each other's shit, which makes us great for each other. And he's a really good kisser, so of course we'd go out."

"He can't be better than Keith," Lance says, sounding mildly curious in a way that draws sharp glances from both Keith and Bakugou.

"Anyway! We like each other and that's that so we are going out! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" Deku says with feeling, bowing. He straightens and downs his second cup of punch.

"Woah now. Calm down there, Midoriya," Kirishima-kun laughs.

"I-I think I need to sit down," Deku says.

"You okay?" Bakugou asks, guiding him to a couch and taking a seat with him.

"Yeah, I guess I'm still a little overwhelmed by everything," Deku admits. "I mean, just an hour ago… and now…"

"Man, you guys really are going out now, aren't you?" Kirishima asks.

"Dude, I am getting really sick of you being all weirded out by it. Yes, we're dating. We've both confirmed it already. Now get with the program," Bakugou snaps.

"Well it is a little unexpected," Todoroki agrees, sipping his punch.

"Oh don't even get me started on you, you half-and-half- Eep!" Bakugou cuts off with a squeak that none of the others would have thought him capable of, almost three octaves higher than his normal speaking voice. The cause of said squeak is Deku, who has curled up and is now leaning against Bakugou, nuzzling his chest. Bakugou turns bright red and reaches over to his as yet untouched cup, gulping it down quickly.

"Mm-mm, Kacchan," Deku murmurs sleepily. His breathing evens out, and it seems like he is asleep. Bakugou hesitantly pets his head.

"Damn your hair is soft," Bakugou grumbles.

"Really? I wanna feel!" Uraraka says, coming over to start petting Deku's head as well. She is followed by Hunk and Todoroki, who line up to take a turn while Bakugou glares at them all.

"Sweet! Open couch!" Lance, says, stealing the spot Hunk just abandoned and pulling Keith down to sit beside him.

"I'm not gonna cuddle with you in public," Keith warns.

"Please. You hardly even let me cuddle you in private," Lance says moodily.

"Probably because, as evidenced by earlier, in our team, privacy does not exist."

"True."

A small scuffle breaks out as Bakugou decides Uraraka has gotten to pet Deku enough and tries to push her away, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. More than a few Yuuei students do double takes when they notice Deku curled against Bakugou with a dopey smile on his face, but most just see Bakugou and roll their eyes in an "oh, _that_ guy" kind of way. Lance stares over at the other couch where the scuffle is with an odd expression on his face.

"Hey Keith," he muses. "Do you think that if we had a baby that their quirk would be kinda like Todoroki's?"

Keith follows Lance's gaze to where Todoroki is waiting for his turn to feel Deku's hair, as Hunk has made his move to take over in Uraraka's stead. Todoroki doesn't seem to have heard Lance, but he senses the gaze on him and turns to meet Keith's eyes, locking the two of them into a staring contest.

"Do you mean if it weren't for the fact that we're both guys?" Keith asks.

"Well yeah. Though I do know a guy who has a quirk that can cause a temporary sex change…"

"I'm not even gonna ask. As for your question, it's possible, but I think lava whips would be more likely."

"Huh. I guess you're right."

Todoroki and Keith still have not broken eye contact. Keith, who loves a challenge, can't help but smile a bit as he tries to stare this guy down.

"But what if we had more than one kid? They'd probably have slightly different quirks, ri- Oh my GOD Keith! You're staring at his butt aren't you!" The last statement comes out a bit loud, and causes Todoroki to raise an eyebrow as he overhears.

Keith is not staring at Todoroki's butt. However, he does like to tease his boyfriend a bit.

"But it's such a nice butt," he says innocently, still staring directly at Todoroki.

Right at that moment, Hunk turns to Todoroki and says something, presumably that Todoroki can pet Deku now, and Todoroki moves to Deku's side, bending over and very deliberately letting his butt stick out.

"A very nice butt," Keith amends with a low whistle of appreciation.

"Keith!" Lance cries, almost in tears.

"Though yours is still better," Keith says, turning to Lance with an impish grin.

"Uggggggghhhhh. Why do you do this to me?" Lance groans, leaning back against the couch cushions.

"Because it's fun and also it's my revenge for all the times you've made me blush by calling me cute."

"Well you are!"

"No, _you_ are."

"Gaaaaaaaaaaay," Pidge says loudly, reminding them they aren't alone.

"Well I should hope so! Otherwise it'd be super awkward how we're DATING!" Keith exclaims.

"Excuuuuuuse you! I'm Bi!" Lance exclaims at the same time. "And acknowledging his cuteness is not so much gay when it is a simple fact of life."

Just then, they are interrupted by an explosion. At first, everyone assumes Bakugou is just fed up with everyone fawning over Deku, but it seems that Todoroki simply ruffled Deku's hair once and moved away, and therefore cannot be the cause.

"It's so hooooooot," Bakugou complains, syllables slurring a bit. "So so so so hot! It's too fucking hooooooooooot!"

"Maybe I should freeze him again," Lance says idly.

"Oh please do. There are all sorts of ice quirks in my family, but none have quite the graceful finesse of yours," Todoroki says, draping himself over the back of the couch to wrap his arms around Lance.

"Uhhhhh," Lance says intelligently. Todoroki's face is right by his neck, which happens to be a sensitive spot. A sensitive spot that Keith tends to neglect since even when they make out Keith tends to keep it extremely tame.

Any Yuuei students near their little group give up all pretenses of trying not to stare, as Todoroki is usually so stoic, and yet here he is getting very close to someone. And Deku was cuddling against Bakugou, and Bakugou is currently trying to take his shirt off, and it's all so strange.

"Alright, how about I take the hottie," Shiro says, coming over to pull Todoroki off Lance.

"But Lance is mine!" Keith whines.

"I meant this hottie," Shiro says, letting Todoroki wrap him in a hug. "Scrawny bean poles may do it for you, Keith, but this is more my type."

"Geez! Am I the only straight one here?" Hunk asks.

"Don't worry, handsome. I have plenty of love for you too," Shiro says with a smile.

"W-what? Shiro- Wait a second. Midoriya knocking out, Bakugou complaining about the heat, everyone being super cuddly and flirtatious all of a sudden, the punch tasting odd… Pidge!" Hunk yells.

"Aw, busted already?" Pidge asks sweetly, quickly hiding their phone behind their back.

"You mean this isn't normal for parties? I thought it was supposed to be a game," Yaoyorozu pouts from where she is delicately sipping her tea.

"Pidge, I can't believe you! Well, actually I can, we really should have seen this one coming, but it's one thing to pull this kinda crap on your team and something completely different to involve unsuspecting strangers!" Hunk scolds, since Shiro isn't up to the task at the moment.

"Yeah, you really should have seen it coming," Pidge agrees. "But how about you save the scolding for later, because it looks like Bakugou's gonna get in trouble soon if we leave him alone."

Sure enough, Bakugou was on the move. His shirt was still on, but completely unbuttoned, and the tie he'd had on had been left on the couch, clenched in the sleeping Deku's hands. Bakugou was stumbling a little, setting off small explosions every time he did and causing no small amount of alarm.

"Seriously, Pidge! You could get people expelled for this!" Hunk hisses.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Uraraka says, and chases after Bakugou. She slaps a hand on his back, and he begins to hover above the ground, legs still moving before he realizes that he's not getting anywhere.

"Huh?" he says stupidly, before setting off another series of explosions that cause him to start rotating.

"Waaaaa," he moans. "Why is everything spinning? Make it stop!" He sets off yet more explosions, which only proceed to make things worse.

"I'm gonna be sick," he whines.

"Uraraka, maybe you should put him down," Kirishima suggests.

"Fine. Release," Uraraka says, and Bakugou falls. Kirishima catches him.

"Hey, Bakugou, someone was talking about stealing Deku away," Kirishima says.

"They can't do that! S'not fair. He's my b-ba-bo- he's mine."

"Wow. You're really drunk," Pidge says, joining them. "You must not handle alcohol well. I wonder if it's related to your quirk somehow. Maybe because alcohol is flammable? Except that seems like it would up your tolerance. So perhaps it's because alcohol dehydrates you, and since your quirk, as I understand it, is sweat-related, hydration is extra important for you, isn't it? This is really fascinating."

"Okay, I think it's time we got Pidge's victims out of here, don't you?" Hunk says, carrying Deku. He is followed by Keith and Lance, who are holding each other up, and Shiro and Todoroki, who are holding hands. Yaoyorozu follows with a sigh, disappointed to leave the party.

"Right. Guess that means I've got the walking bomb," Kirishima says, and activates his quirk before tipping Bakugou over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Here, let me help," Uraraka says, and makes Bakugou weightless again.

"Put me down, I can walk," Bakugou slurs.

The group heads out and walk right into a couple of teachers who aren't from Yuuei. One is a woman with white hair pulled into a bun, the other is a ginger-haired man with a bushy moustache.

"There you are!" the ginger-haired man says. "Just a few minutes ago I started sensing that someone was going to need some pain-killers tomorrow, and that I'd better make sure they get them tonight."

"Mr. Coran, Ms. Allura," Pidge says nervously.

"Did they-?" Allura asks Shiro.

"Yup," Hunk says, since Shiro has a vaguely confused smile on his face.

"Pidge, I am very disappointed in you!" Allura scolds. "I shall have to go apologize to Yuuei's principal. Coran, would you mind assisting the students please?" She asks the final question like it's a command.

"I'm on it," Coran says.

The Yuuei students are returned to their dorm, and the students of the Lion Academy head back to their dwelling. Pidge receives the scolding of a lifetime.

The next morning, Deku wakes up to a hangover and someone pounding on his door. He answers it, mostly to make the knocking stop, and is swept up into a warm hug. He smiles. The pounding on the door would have to stop, but waking up to hugs from his boyfriend from now on doesn't seem so bad.


End file.
